


Whumptober 2020 - 22 - Harder Road

by Celticgal1041



Series: Whumptober 2020 [22]
Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Drug Addiction, Drug Withdrawal, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27154567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celticgal1041/pseuds/Celticgal1041
Summary: “Please,” she repeated as she shifted and cupped his cheek, keeping her hand there as he closed his eyes and melted further into her touch.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949548
Comments: 10
Kudos: 40
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Whumptober 2020 - 22 - Harder Road

Magnum bit his lip against an exclamation of pain as he stumbled again, nearly bringing himself and his helper to the ground. “Is anyone behind us?” he managed to eke out on a gasp, praying their luck held just a short while longer. In his current state, he’d be of little help, and that knowledge pushed him to keep going.

“No, there’s no one,” Leanne replied after awkwardly looking over her shoulder while keeping the staggering investigator on his feet.

“Good,” he breathed out, not having energy for anything more. Squinting, he tried to take back a modicum of control of their escape, but his vision continued to dip and sway nauseatingly.

“Can you see the others?” he asked, hoping the girls who’d gotten out before them would provide a path to safety.

With his compromised vision, he missed the look of alarm thrown his way, but he could clearly hear the young woman’s response. “They’re waiting for us ahead.”

“No,” Magnum blurted out, concern for the others immediately jumping to the forefront. “Tell them to run…don’t wait….” He broke off as he ran out of air, the exertion of his stumbling gait too much for his overtaxed system.

He tripped over his own feet again, forcing Leanne to grip his arm and waist more tightly to keep him upright. “Just a little farther,” she coaxed, sounding out of breath as well as she bore more and more of the P.I.’s weight.

As scared as he’d been for the women being held, Magnum was now equally as concerned about his deteriorating condition and was certain their escape attempt was a one-time thing. If they were caught, there’d be no second chances, and that was assuming they’d even be kept alive if found out by their captors.

“Look, Ani has a cellphone,” Leanne nearly squealed in delight, while Magnum could only manage a shaky nod in reply. In the three days since his capture, he’d grown incredibly weak, but his ordeal was nothing when compared to the others’ suffering. The men holding them had a use for the women, while he was an unwelcome inconvenience, making him especially expendable.

His poor treatment had resulted in nearly debilitating fatigue, to the point where it made it nearly impossible to even raise his head and pay attention to what was happening around him. Then there was the nauseating roll of his stomach, making the water that he craved almost constantly a trial to consume. Worst of all was his lack of awareness, often checking out for hours at a time only to startle back to a reality he could barely discern.

“Let me help,” another female voice appeared at his side, making him vaguely aware that his free arm was being flung over a set of slim shoulders. Despite the additional support, he was flagging badly, dragging his feet, and nearly being carried along by the two women at his sides.

He must have drifted then, because he suddenly found himself sitting on the ground, Leanne sitting beside him to keep him from falling over. “Wha’?” he slurred as he came back to himself, his eyes blinking owlishly as he struggled to make sense of the bleary images around them.

Before Leanne could reply, he registered the sound of approaching sirens; never in his life had anything sounded sweeter. Next to him, Leanne was saying something, but he could no longer make out her words. Instead, he decided to give in to the relentless blackness dancing at the edge of his vision, slumping into the woman at his side and trusting that help was about to arrive.

* * *

“Get out!” he screamed, suddenly full of rage, wanting nothing more to be left alone. His friends’ constant looks of pity only made him feel like a caged animal on display in some zoo; a hurt, desperate animal, but an animal, nonetheless. Given that they wouldn’t help him anyway, what was the point of having them around?

“Get out,” he repeated when Rick didn’t move, anger making his tone low and cold.

“No, Tommy, I’m not going anywhere,” Wright replied. His exterior was calm, but inside he was a writhing mass of unhealthy emotions: fear, anger, frustration.

They’d been so elated when the hospital had called to let them know Magnum was there. Better still, HPD was calling him a hero, having helped a group of young women escape a group of sex traffickers who liked to keep their ‘product’ docile by injecting them with low, regular doses of heroine.

Their makeshift family had met up at the hospital to speak with Magnum’s doctor, only to be told the horrifying news: the investigator had been injected as well. Unlike the women the gang marketed to willing customers, the P.I. was kept on high doses of the incredibly addictive drug, never even allowed to come down from one high before being sent on another.

The effect on his body had been devastating. In the short time he’d been missing, he’d become gaunt and pale, his ability to focus all but eradicated. His respiratory system remained sluggish, slowing his heart rate to a crawl and making his breathing laboured. To compound the initial effects of the drug, he was now in withdrawal, his body having quickly grown dependent on the chemical that had been forced into his veins.

“Why are you even here?” Magnum panted, prompting Rick’s fingers to twitch as he glanced at the abandoned nasal cannula.

“How about we get you back on some oxygen, buddy?” Wright began as he inched closer to his friend’s bed.

The effect on the former SEAL was instantaneous as he stiffened and reared as far back as the bed allowed. “You don’t care about me!” he accused, his voice rising again. 

Rick was about to counter his friend’s words when Magnum groaned miserably and slumped sideways. Moments later he was curled up on his side as another set of painful cramps ravaged his body. Wright could see the sweat covering his friend’s face from where he stood, and again his fingers twitched as he ached to help, but he held himself back, knowing that his touch wouldn’t be appreciated.

As he watched, Magnum’s body slowly grew lax, the lines of pain etched on his face gradually smoothing but never really disappearing. Rick let out a low sigh of relief. Thomas was asleep although he was unlikely to stay that way for very long, the withdrawal symptoms never abating long enough for any type of proper rest. He pulled a slightly shaking hand through his hair, and quietly left the room, needing a short break before dealing with the next round of suffering Magnum.

“Hey, he okay?” TC asked as soon as Rick stepped outside. There was a small seating area just off Thomas’ room and his friends had been occupying the space nearly constantly since he’d been admitted.

“He’s asleep again,” Wright replied as he reached for the coffee pot to pour himself a cup.

Seeing the slight tremble in his friend’s hands, Calvin teased, “Maybe you should lay off the caffeine for a while.” His words had the exact opposite effect of what he’d intended as Rick crushed the Styrofoam cup in hand and threw the entire, dripping mess into the nearby trash can.

“Hey, it’s gonna be alright, brother,” TC soothed, resting a hand on Rick’s shoulder and gently squeezing the tense muscles that sat there. His other hand snagged a paper towel, which he handed to Wright so he could deal with the coffee that dripped from his fingertips.

Looking down and shaking his head, Rick was breathing hard with pent-up emotions. “This is so unfair,” he breathed out, his hands clenching into fists. “How could anyone do this to another human being, let alone him?” he asked rhetorically.

“All kinds of evil in the world, man; you know that,” Calvin replied, to which Rick nodded wearily.

“I know,” Rick agreed. “He’s just so…out of his head right now. He needs help, but won’t let anyone help him,” he choked out.

TC squeezed Wright’s shoulder again, his mind going back to their first conversation with Magnum’s doctor.

_“Before I allow you to see him, you should know that he’s refused all medication to support his recovery,” the doctor explained._

_“What do you mean?”_

_“Refused, why?”_

_“Wouldn’t those be helpful in a case like his?”_

_The questions flooded out, Magnum’s friends stunned at the doctor’s revelation._

_Raising a hand to silence the group, the physician went on, “While it’s not ideal, and he’d certainly be more comfortable with some pharmaceutical support, he seems dead set against the idea of having anything else injected into his system.”_

_Rick and TC’s faces blanched as they traded knowing looks. “Uh, we might know the reason for that,” Calvin replied. “During his time in the service, he once spent nearly a week in enemy hands. They used a wicked cocktail of drugs to keep him confused and pliant while they interrogated him.”_

_Rick took up the story when TC paused. “He never gave anything away, but the idea that he might because he was so out of it terrified him.”_

_“What happened to him now must be bringing back all those awful memories from last time,” Higgins thought aloud, while the two men nodded in agreement with her assessment._

_“So, what are we dealing with?” Rick asked, wanting to prepare himself to do whatever was necessary to help their friend._

_“It won’t be pretty, I’m afraid,” the doctor began. “Physically, he’ll feel pretty miserable. There’s a strong likelihood of nausea and vomiting, general pain and cramping, and his symptoms will likely get worse as the heroin slowly leaves his system. Emotionally, he’ll be highly volatile, so don’t take it personally if he’s screaming at you one minute and crying the next.”_

_The trio’s expressions were stunned but determined when Higgins replied on their behalf. “Whatever happens, we’ll be with him every step of the way.”_

Juliet’s arrival pulled Calvin from his thoughts and he was grateful when she took one look at their defeated expressions and promptly took charge. Extending a beverage tray towards Rick, she said, “Proper coffee; not that swill they brew here. Sandwiches as well, and you should enjoy both before they get cold.” She passed over the bag of food held in her other hand.

“I’ll be in with Thomas,” she concluded, turning to leave and pausing a moment later to add, “Don’t rush to rejoin us.” A pair of grateful smiles followed her as she left.

Higgins pushed open the door to Magnum’s room, his extreme mood swings making it difficult to predict what to expect from one moment to the next. With a soft sigh, she took in his crumpled form as she assessed his current emotional state: self-pity.

Steeling herself, she approached the bed, moving slowly to give Thomas plenty of time to register her presence. When his dull gaze flicked momentarily in her direction, she positioned herself next to his bed, automatically reaching for the cloth that rested in a bowl of water on his bedside table. Wringing it out, she began to wipe the sweat from his face, keeping her movements slow and gentle.

She continued for several minutes, shifting her attention to his exposed neck and upper chest where his gown had ridden down, while Magnum just laid there limply turned partly over onto his side. A lone tear trickled down his cheek, and Juliet wiped it away with her thumb, allowing her hand to linger on his overheated skin for several seconds.

When more moisture appeared in his eyes, she leaned closer, wrapping him as best she could in a hug while he sobbed into her shoulder. Still, neither of them spoke as Higgins continued to wait and see where Magnum’s emotions would take him next. Minutes later, he pulled away from her hold and she let him, straightening up while he shifted further onto his back.

“I’m not worth it, you know,” he whispered quietly, his eyes downcast while his fingers picked at his blanket.

Higgins raised an eyebrow at the comment, deeming it not worth a response. Instead, she said, “I know what happened when you were captured.” By the stiffening of his shoulders, she could tell he knew at once to what she was referring.

“It’s perfectly natural to be afraid after something like that, and I imagine your recent experience brought back your fears from before,” she continued. “The thing is that you’re not the only one suffering right now.” His fingers stilled momentarily, letting Higgins know she had his attention.

“When you bleed, we bleed,” she said, taking a risk that the men’s motto would land as intended with the ill man. Reaching over, she took one of his hands and clasped it in both of hers.

“Please, Thomas,” she breathed out, hoping he might finally be ready to accept some help.

Slowly, he turned his face towards hers, the look in his eyes letting her know how lost and adrift he currently was. “Please,” she repeated as she shifted and cupped his cheek, keeping her hand there as he closed his eyes and melted further into her touch.

“’K,” he breathed out, the word almost too soft to hear.

“Thank you,” she replied with a faint smile, rubbing her thumb along his cheek before dropping her hand. She went to remove her other hand from his so she could summon the doctor, but his grip tightened as he refused to let go.

“Alright,” she agreed as she squeezed back, while reaching for the call button with her free hand.

Once more, Magnum had taken the harder road, doing the right thing when he’d accidently stumbled across a sex trafficking ring, and again when he’d suffered the consequences of that decision. But he was no longer alone against an indomitable enemy, and his friends – his family – would make sure he would emerge victorious and able to fight another day.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to AZGirl for proofing and for this story's title. All remaining mistakes are mine.
> 
> This story was based on the day 22 prompt: Do these tacos taste funny to you? poisoned / drugged / withdrawal
> 
> Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts if you're so inclined!


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